“Not right now,” Robert answers. “I’ll knock on the door when everyone seems to be distracted.”
She nods and waits for the knock. If anyone sees her coming out of Waylen’s room, she’s ruined. Andrew will lose his mind with jealousy, and everyone will gossip. She’ll have to leave the city forever. Just when she thinks she’ll never escape, a quiet double knock sounds on the door.
She opens the door and slips into the hall, rushing to join the crowd outside the other door. She keeps her head down and slips between people, trying to make it look like she’s been among them all along. No one seems to notice her—they’re all staring at the door and whispering to each other.
“She’s basically a high-end call girl,” a young woman sniffs. “She’ll f.u.c.k any man in any hotel.”
“I heard that she was pregnant,” the woman’s friend says.
“Haven’t you heard that pregnant women are insatiable,” the first woman says. “It’s something about their hormones.
“Oh well,” says the friend. “At least Mr. Clifford knows that his fiance is a s.l.u.t now. I imagine he’ll need some comforting—maybe if we’re lucky, he’ll choose one of us to comfort him.”
Leilani pushes past the women, but they’re too busy gossipping to notice her. She makes her way to the front of the crowd and sees Caitan and Andrew standing side by side outside the closed door. Andrew’s face is deathly pale, and Caitan looks like she’s trying not to smile.
Andrew grabs Caitan’s wrist and says, “Tell me again—what did you see?”
“Well, I saw a man went into the room,” Caitan says. “And then I heard a woman’s voice. She was screaming and making some very dirty sounds.”
A vein in Andrew’s temple throbs, and he asks, “Are you sure?”
“Definitely,” Caitan says. “Now let go of my wrist; you’re hurting me. Besides, it’s not my fault. We all told you your fiance was a loose woman, but you didn’t listen to us.”
Andrew pushes Caitan aside, and she stumbles and catches herself against the wall. He raises a long leg and kicks the door. The solid oak door shudders in its frame, but it doesn’t budge.
“Just use your keycard, brother,” Caitan says.
“Can’t find it,” Andrew mutters, raising his leg to kick the door again.
The wood splinters and Leilani shudders—Andrew’s rage is truly terrifying. He kicks the door again and again. On the fifth kick, it swings inward, slanting on broken hinges. The crowd behind him lifts their mobile phones higher, eager to catch every detail of the latest scandal.
Andrew runs into the bedroom, and Caitan follows right after. Leilani waits a moment and then slips into the room behind them. She looks around and sees that Caitan and Andrew have stopped next to the bed. She pokes her head out the door and waves for the crowd to come into the room.
Mamai and Bella have shifted in their sleep: both of their heads are under the quilt, and only their feet poke out. Mamai’s black crocodile shoes and Bella’s white, sparkling pumps lie side by side at the foot of the bed. Andrew’s shoulders are tense as he looks at the feet.
Leilani looks down at her own shoes and realizes the hem of her gown covers them. Andrew may be well-dressed, but she doubts he realizes that she’d never wear white shoes with an all-black dress.
Andrew squares his shoulders and pulls the quilt off the sleepers, revealing their heads. Bella’s face is hidden under Mamai’s arm—only her long blonde hair is visible. Andrew’s shoulders relax when he sees the hair, and Leilani exhales with relief.
“Mamai, why the hell are you here?” Caitan screams.
Phones flash behind Leilani, and Mamai turns to stare at the crowd, looking dazzled and confused. He props himself up against the pillow and rubs his forehead.
“Caitain—I—I,” he begins.
“Who’s the s.l.u.t in bed with you?” Caitan asks.
She leans forward and turns the woman’s face toward the crowd. Leilani strains her ears to hear Caitan’s reaction, but it’s drowned out by the loud gasp from the people around her. Bella Clifford blinks sleepily up at her youngest daughter.
“Mom,” Caitan shrieks. “What are you doing? Why are you in bed with my boyfriend?”
Bella shakes her head and looks at her daughter and then her son. Her eyes look red with alcohol, but her expression is sharp and then enraged. She jabs Mamai in the arm.
“You,” she hisses. “Why are you in bed with me? What are you trying to do?”
Leilani smiles to herself. Mamai is in a difficult position. If he tells the truth—that he followed her into the room and tried to r.a.p.e her—Andrew will kill him on the spot. If he lies, everyone will think he was trying to seduce Bella. Though Bella looks ready for murder, her rage is definitely safer than Andrew’s.
“I don’t know how I got here,” he says, his voice weak and unconvincing. “I can’t remember anything.”
Caitan lunges forward and pulls the quilt off the bed. Mamai’s tanned, hairy legs appear. Between them, his member stands at full attention. He blushes and throws his hands over his crotch. Caitan slaps him across the face, and the sound echoes through the room.
“I’m going to kill you,” Caitan shrieks.
“You asshole,” Bella screams. “What did you do to me while I was sleeping?”
She slaps Mamai’s other cheek, leaving a red handprint to match her daughter’s. Mamai ducks his head and raises his hands to cover his face. He realizes his crotch is exposed, and he quickly drops his hands to cover it again.
“I didn’t do anything to you,” Mamai says. “I swear. I don’t like old, dried out women.”
“F.u.c.k you,” Bella screams and slaps him again.
“You bastard,” Caitan shouts, raising her hand to hit him again.
“Enough,” Mamai says, his voice low and whiny. “Stop hitting me.”
“It’s not enough for me,” Caitan says, raking her long gel nails across his cheek.
Andrew pulls Caitan off Mamai and turns to face the crowd. He spots Leilani and raises his eyebrows. She shakes her head, faking innocence.
“Listen up, everyone,” Andrew shouts. “The show is over. You’ll all leave now, and on your way out, my bodyguards will check your phones and delete any photos or videos you’ve taken.”
Leilani slips her own phone back into her purse. She doesn’t want to lose the footage she’s taken—after all, she had a front-row seat to it all. The bodyguards clear the room, and Leilani steps toward Andrew, placing a comforting hand on his forearm.
“Why are you here?” Caitan asks, pointing at Leilani. “You should be asleep—I mean, never mind.”
Leilani nods. She suspected Caitan drugged the water, but now she knows for sure. It makes sense that Andrew’s sister would want revenge after her previous plan with the purse, and the condoms backfired. If she caught Leilani n.a.k.e.d with another man, Leilani would be forced to leave the city in shame. Leilani steps forward and grabs Caitan’s fingers, crushing them in her palm.
“Why would I be sleeping, Caitan?” she asks. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“You’re hurting me,” Caitan wails.
Leilani bends Caitan’s fingers backward and asks, “Why did you think I’d be here?”
“I—I saw you come into this room,” Caitan says between sobs.
“I thought you forgot your contact lenses and couldn’t see clearly,” Leilani says.
“Let go, let go,” Caitan cries.
Leilani drops Caitan’s hand and turns to look at the bed. Bella has already climbed to her feet and straightened her dress, and Mamai is doing the buckle on his belt. Both of them look pale and confused.
“What’s going on?” Andrew asks. “Can someone give me an honest answer?”
“Can’t you see, this is all Leilani’s fault,” Caitan says. “She must have made some sort of trap to ruin our family’s reputation. She was probably angry because we asked her to bow to us. Isn’t that petty?”
“What makes you so sure I did this?” Leilani asks. “It sounds like a really complicated scheme to me.”
“I just happened to see—” Caitan begins.
“Just happened to see what?” Leilani asks. “If you see so much, why didn’t you see your mom and your boyfriend go into the same hotel room?”
“Alright, that’s enough,” Bella shouts. “No one will ever mention this incident again—especially not in front of Joseph. I know it looks strange, but nothing has happened here. Mamai and I haven’t done anything wrong together, and I’m not going to let him listen to such insulting accusations.
“The Abraham family and the Clifford family have long been close, and I value our relationship too much to make any accusations that might damage it. Mamai, I know we weren’t intimate in any way. You’ll have to forgive my daughter: Caitan has always been impulsive, and her temper is quick. Now I think it’s best if you leave me to deal with my family.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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